Kyle Shanahan Refutes Claim From Christian McCaffrey’s 49ers Backup

Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers might receive a call from the league office following their Week 1 victory against the New York Jets.

It won’t stem from anything between the white lines, but rather a postgame interview 49ers running back Jordan Mason had with ESPN’s Lisa Salters after Christian McCaffrey’s backup balled out in the 32-19 win at Levi’s Stadium.

Mason told Salters he learned sometime Friday he would start in Week 1. McCaffrey was listed as questionable (not out) on Friday’s injury report. He was ruled out roughly 90 minutes before “Monday Night Football.”

Might it have been a slip of the tongue? Sure. But the reality is fantasy football owners, NFL bettors and others were irate after Mason’s comment.

Shanahan rejected the narrative after the game.

“I never told Jordan he was going to start,” Shanahan told reporters, per the 49ers. “I told him he had to be ready a bunch, but that might have been somebody trying to pump him up. I knew he was going to have to play a lot. I told him he was going to have to — it wasn’t going to be like usual. He was going to be a No. 2 back that was splitting a lot of the time. But he didn’t know, for sure, he was going to be doing that until today.”

Shanahan added: “We just found out he (McCaffrey) wasn’t playing today. … I thought he was playing this whole week until today.”

Mason spoke to reporters after the game and suggested he misspoke when he was interviewed by Salters. When asked again when he was told he would start, Mason opted not to answer the question.